DigitalNC: North Carolina's Digital Heritage

Dr. Francis Joseph Kron Collection

Francis Joseph Kron was a physician, scientist and horticulturist of Stanly County. In 1858, Dr. Kron’s daughters Adelaide and Elizabeth purchased five Negro slaves from the estate of Mark Jones. Their names and ages were: Julia (33), James (16), Carolina (14), Doctor (5), Sarah Adelaide (3). In 1863 Adelaide and Elizabeth purchased George, age 56, at public auction. George was the husband of Julia. They had 3 other children: Rachel born in 1860, Frank born 1862 and Solomon (Sol) born in 1864.

Most prominent in the collection are documents relating to James, who acquired land from the Kron daughters and Sol who remained at the Dr. Kron home site and cared for the aging Kron sisters. Miss Addie Kron attempted to will her estate to Sol’s widow, Mary Jane. The lack of proper signatures invalidated the will and the estate went to descendants of Dr. Kron’s family in Germany.

A selection of the African American Kron Documents as well as some of Kron’s medical ledgers and horticultural notebooks are now available online through DigitalNC.